Insigniaresidential - FSBO

Own Design, Taman Ikhlas

Built Up : 4000 sq ft

Land Area : 60' x 100'

Freehold, CF ready in 2005

Even if you are not from New Jersey, or even the East Coast - there is a good possibility that you have heard of Asbury Park, NJ.. You may be familiar with it as the "Birthplace" of Bruce Springsteen (actually, he was born and grew up in Freehold, NJ, but he was first noticed at the Stone Pony which is still open and located in Asbury Park), or you may have heard about how it was pretty much THEE place to be in America back in the early 1900's, or - you may have heard about it's numerous failed redevelopment attempts and downfall where their biggest attraction - the beach front - became a ghost town in the 90's until the early 00's, or maybe you saw its two or three appearances on The Sopranos - well, I'm happy to report that Asbury Park is well on its way to coming back.

I grew up in Asbury Park - i lived there from birth until i went into High School - and I have to admit - i hated it, there were really no neighborhood kids who i could hang out with, i was scared to leave my parents property, and it seemed like every other house on my block, and the block behind me had a major fire at one time or another.. Actually.. Now that I think about it, out of 20 houses on my block and the block behind me, 10 of them had major fires. It wasnt the greatest place to grow up in, but I did learn alot - without realizing it.. I was able to see a city go into a great decline. I can remember the days when I would go shopping with my babysitter on Cookman Ave, or when i would go on the go-carts on the boardwalk, or go for a ride on the Ferris Wheel in the old Palace Amusements (the ferris wheel which now sits in two tractor trailers, and in the woods of Twin Brooks Golf Center, behind the Wal-Mart in Neptune/Tinton Falls.) I also witnessed numerous attempts to bring hte city back to life - all of which - until now - have proved fruitless, primarily because of over-promises, good old corruption, and quite simply - a dumb town government.

About five years ago this investor group named Asbury Partners came from out of nowhere, and proposed yet another revitalization - but the difference was this group had experience, they had money, and they had backing from major developers, in fact, they even turned down K Hovnanian as one of the developers due to disagreements.. Turning down one of the top home builders in America says something.. These people are on the right track. I had the opportunity to meet with one of the Developers from Asbury Partners, and it was eerie going into their office - the old office for the Ocean Mile development, the high-rise that was never finished, yet sat rusting and rotting for almost a decade. I remember when I was younger, I visited the construction site numerous times, with a friend of the family, and one thing I remember is standing right where the elevator was going, not only that, but I remember going into the sales office - the same sales office that I was in 10 years later, and looked exactly the same - even the same scale model of the Ocean Mile development in the lobby.. (Asbury Partners had just recently moved their offices there, so they didn't renovate or do anything yet) It gave me chills to think - the same office where Asbury's downfall began, was going to be the same place where Asbury was going to come back. Alot of people had doubts - I knew this group would do it, and they have.

By day I'm a Commercial Real Estate Advisor, and today I received an email from an individual who asked me about purchasing commercial property in asbury - and then wanted to know if it was really coming back.. I'm going to cut and paste my response to him, because I think that pretty much sums up what is going on in Asbury.

I actually grew up in Asbury, and saw its decline, and then also watched its numerous failed re-development attempts, and what is currently occuring now cannot be stopped and is so far along that it cannot do anything but bring good to the town.

In the past two years alone, there have been probably a few hundred new condos that have been built, not including the Esperenza High-Rise on the ocean which has another 200 condos, and is currently being built.

Companies such as Paramount Homes have built condos on the ocean where the Penthouses went for over $900,000, Metro Homes which is a large developer in the Hoboken/Jersey City area is also another big backer in asbury, with the Esperanza as well as numerous other projects which have not yet been announced.

The commercial district in asbury park - Cookman Ave has had its own renaissance in the past few years, and continually is getting bigger. In fact, today a restaurant called Old Man Raffertys (they have two other locations in New Brunswick, & Hillside) is opening in the former Steinbach building.

All in all, Asbury Park is coming back, I think in another 5 years it will be a huge destination for Families looking for a nice safe place to live, and also for entertainment.

Not only that, but the Berkeley Carteret Hotel (the official hotel website has been taken down since the renovation has started - please don't mind the 70's era clothing), was recently purchased and is scheduled to go through a major major renovation - bringing it back to its glory as one of the grandest hotels in New Jersey. After seeing thea mount of work that has occured on the site, I have a feeling that the developer is going to renege on his promise to re-do the hotel from top to bottom - and as I've said for years now - I can see it as a Westin or Sheraton. Once the Berkeley comes back online, with all the other work that is occuring - the entire boardwalk is being renovated - the boardwalk itself was completely re-done, and the five pavilions are going to be renovated from top to bottom to their former glory.. Asbury Partners (the developer for Asbury Park) has hired Madison Marquette to be in charge of the Boardwalk revitalization, and from the one or two architectural designs I've seen - its going to be unbelievable.

They are also expecting to put another very high end hotel in Asbury, about 100 feet from the Ocean, on the South end of town - I always thought a W would be perfect for there. Maybe not now - but in a few years, the town will definitely be a destination in and of itself, so I think it can sustain a W.. We'll see what happens, it's been suggested that Metro Homes will be doing a hotel in Asbury - so we'll have to wait and see.

I'm really excited about whats occurring in Asbury Park - it makes me feel good to see the town evolve from what it was only a few short years ago into this town which will be beautiful, with families, empty nesters, as well as 20-30 year olds just getting themselves established and on their own in life.

I cannot wait to see what Asbury looks like in a few years - every day it just keeps improving more and more, new street lights, making Ocean Avenue a two way street again, wide open avenues, shops opening up on the boardwalk, and most of all - people..

Asbury Park is back.

And it's better than ever.

andrew@alconic-inc.com

There are other options for home owners such as, negotiating a "short sale" when their net proceeds are not enough to cover the mortgage obligations and closing costs, such as property taxes, and the broker's commission. If you are a seller who is finding it tough with today's higher monthly payments on your adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) or interest-only loans, a short sale may be right for you.

With rising foreclosure rates throughout Florida find out if foreclosure is right for you. First, understand that not all home owners behind on payments or looking at a sale price lower than there original purchase price are obligated to foreclose. Other options include, renting out your property, negotiating with your lender for a lower interest rate, discussing a repayment plan with your lender if your income recently increased, or even attempting to extend the mortgage term with your lender.

Florida has ranked 2nd in the United States, in having reported 21,704 foreclosure filings in May 2007, approximately 1 foreclosure for every 336 household in Florida (Realty Trac Study). Why so many foreclosure filings? There are many causes to this affect and to blame it all completely on one reason would be naive, but one noticeable cause would be the nationwide drop in the sub prime mortgage lending to persons with poor credit histories making it difficult for other borrowers to obtain credit.

Before it's too late, find out if your situation qualifies for any of the above possible solutions.

Remember, lenders want to work with you!

Why? To avoid the cost of foreclosure, estimated at around $58,000 by the Tower Group study, to avoid increasing their property inventory called their REO (Real Estate Owned) properties, to avoid the competition of selling in the same market where newer homes are selling faster than existing homes, the area in which the property exist may have depreciated in value significantly, or the property is in poor condition.

So contact your local Realtor®, or The Akerman Team today and find out what your next move should be.

We'll be moving some significant real estate video functionality from private beta to public beta weekend no later than this upcoming weekend (likely before the weekend).  We've been making changes based on feedback during our private beta cycle for the last month or so.  Honestly, most of the functionality issues have been related either dealing with multiple languages or internal administration but we think that the big issues at least are ironed out. UPDATE: for those that have asked, the new public beta functionality has little to do with our recent post over on Active Rain where we ask for feedback about tests using 1024 pixel wide video. 

 I cant tell you how thrilled that I am that we are finally at the point of being able to make this real estate video functionality public (not to mention how happy that the majority of the team will be that they can finally work on something else  *grin* ). It is a fairly large project with lots of moving parts spread across multiple locations but we think that it might add some value for our customers.  

It's the next small step in executing against our plan....

10. Location, location, location.  Once you’ve decided on a general geographic location for your new home, you’ll probably look at things like the schools, distance to work, family and friends.  But take a deeper look at other location factors that are important to you.  For example, you might want to look at neighborhood conveniences; such as, parks, shopping, whether it’s a busy or quiet neighborhood, etc. Whatever’s important to you should be a consideration is selecting the location.

9. What’s the MINIMUM amount of square footage you want/need in your new home? I think it’s funny that we don’t say “I don’t care what the square footage is as long as it’s not over XXXX square feet.” I guess we think bigger is better, but not always.  Do you have a growing family, are you down sizing, or maybe you’re just starting out.  Sometimes it’s more about the floor plan than it is about square footage.  Although square footage can be important, the next item is more important.

8. What’s the MINIMUM number of bedrooms and bathrooms you need in your new home?  Most of the time, if you need 3 bedrooms, but you fall in love with a 4 bedroom, it’s not a problem.  We can always find a purpose for an additional room, but how many bedrooms and bathrooms must you have is the real question.  Know your minimum; you can always go up from there.

7. What features MUST you have in your new home?  For example: air conditioning, a pool, 4-car garage, gated community, etc?  Here are some of today's most popular features.

6. What features would be a BONUS to have in your new home?  For example: a fireplace, wine cellar, bonus room, home office, gourmet kitchen, etc?

5. What features DON’T you want in your new home?  For example:  a pool, zero lot line, acreage, next to the freeway, an outdated kitchen, etc?

4. Are you looking for a “TURN KEY” home, a home that’s needs a little TLC, or for a FIXER UPPER?  Sometime the budget dictates which kind of house we select and other times it’s a choice.  Either you like being handy, being involved in making the choices, or you just want to move in and enjoy.

3. Are you INTERESTED in an established or new neighborhood?  Landscaping is a key issue.  Established neighborhoods have grown trees and typically, these homes have front and back yard landscaping.  Whether or not you want to leave it or change it is up to you.  With new construction, you’ll need to landscape at least the backyard (Front yard landscaping is sometimes included).  But depending on the size of the lot, plus your needs and desires, it can cost thousands to landscape a backyard.  So be sure to figure this into your calculations.

2. How much home can you AFFORD? Let’s say the home cost $700,000 and you have $200,000 down payment.  $700,000 - $200,000 = $500,000 to finance.  Take the loan amount of $500,000 and multiply it by .07 interest rate (a rounded up guesstimate)That equates to $35,000 in interest per year. Divide that by twelve, and you'll get your monthly INTEREST-ONLY payment of roughly $2,900.00 Divide the principal amount ($500,000) by how many payments the loan has, which is 360 (360 months= 30 years) = roughly $1,400.  Now add the INTEREST ($2,900) to the PRINCIPLE ($1,400) to get your monthly mortgage payment of $4,300 per month, plus taxes.

1. Buying a home is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make.  It’s an emotional purchase.  Buy a home that meets your needs and desires, and one that makes you feel good.

After 4 months of planning, building, dreaming and stressing, we've finally launched Propertyqube! We are incredibly excited and hope that with time, we can truly make a difference in the real estate industry.

Over the past 5 months, we have been through quite a roll coaster ride. When things were going well, there was no feeling like it. We felt like we were on top of the world. But celebrations never lasted long, and we were more often than not wading through a sea of lows...and those lows were truly taxing on the soul. They were accompanied by restless nights wondering:

Are we were completely insane?

Did we really leave amazing jobs at Microsoft?

Do we have a strong business model? Wait...is this even a business or is it just a product?

When do we raise money and who do we approach? Do we even want to raise money? Let's not raise money...we shouldn't need to raise that much...right?

Hold on...did we really leave Microsoft?

Questions like this swirled and swirled...mercilessly. We made our fair share of mistakes. From making contracts with people we shouldn't have, to spending a little too much on legal fees. But we realized these mistakes quickly and worked tirelessly to correct them. Starting out, we were not like this. We would almost avoided confronting issues in fear of those dreaded "Lows." We learned quickly that this was the wrong approach and changed.

We are incredibly grateful to those people who have supported us. We couldn't have done this without you!

Go check out Propertyqube and let us know what you think, from the design to the navigation throughout the site. We need your feedback on what was difficult and what you want to see changed or added. The product will evolve to something much more robust over the next couple of months so check back often because we'll release new functionality on an almost weekly basis!

Below is a quick list of books and other resources that helped us find direction, inspiration, and our vision:

The Laws of Simplicity, by John Maeda
Raising Capital, Second Edition, by Andrew J. Sherman
Wikinomics, by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
The Marketing Playbook, by John Zagula and Richard Tong
The Art of the Start, by Guy Kawasaki
The Dip, by Seth Godin
Fast Company magazine
The Harvard Business Review magazine
The Culting of Brands, by Douglas Atkins

and so many others...

Of course, we owe a huge thanks to the blogger community (real estate, tech, and start-up bloggers) for helping us get to this point. Please check out our blog roll!

Few things are as devastating as losing your home. Sadly, it's not always inevitable. In many cases the foreclosure could have been avoided with some outside help.

Finding a new home. It is not better to allow foreclosure to happen because after you lose your home, you will need to find a new home to live. All too often, the price you need to pay rent will be almost as high if not higher that your current mortgage payment. Remember: the owner of the rental property needs top make his mortgage payment, too, so he is going to charge a rental payment that is higher that his mortgage costs.

Deficiency judgment. It is not uncommon that the sale of the home is insufficient to cover the reminder of the mortgage. When the property had been damaged, or market values have dropped, the owner may end up with a bill in the tens of thousands for the difference.

Despite what many people think, most lending institutions are not anxious to foreclose. It is a last-ditch effort to recover their money and minimize their loses, and it is an incredible hassle. Most lenders would rather avoid it, if possible. There are multiple sources for help that you should be aware of, and most lenders will be happy to hear that their clients are going to try to keep their home rather that just await a foreclosure.

Housing Counseling Agency. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development maintains a list of HUD-approved counseling agencies. Call (800) 569-4287 to find the agency nearest you.

FHA-Insurance fund. FHA borrowers may qualify to have HUD make a one time payment to bring their mortgage current. See www.hud.gov/foreclosure for more information on the requirements to qualify.

Different mortgage program. Speak to a knowledgeable and experienced loan officer about the possibility of refinancing your mortgage to a more affordable program.

Special Forbearance. Many borrowers can qualify for a new payment structure if they've had an increase in their cost of living, such as unexpected medical expenses, or a decrease in wages. This payment structure will allow you to repay the lender in a given time frame.

Plans to provide a Wi-Fi blanket for the City of Chicago were scrapped according to a report in the Chicago Tribune today. 

Earthlink and AT&T submitted proposals to Chicago over recent months, possibly making the City one of the first to provide public Wi-Fi from streets to resident's homes.  With internet costs falling and negotiations failing, the Wi-Fi dream was left for dead. 

Read more about Chicago's Wi-Fi hopes here.

Welcome to my Charleston Real Estate Blog.  I will keep you posted on the local market conditions and national news here.  I look forward to receiving your comments.

The Tourists are here for one last summer fling and so are our summer’s inventory stock (homes and condos, co-ops, and lofts) still for sale!

This is the week for writing an offer on a great neighborhood home or a super condo, co-op or loft somewhere in the city and getting it accepted (maybe even below asking) before our remaining summer inventory stock gets old and/or forgotten. San Franciscans getting back home from vacation will eagerly await the anticipated fall preview of new inventory and will get serious. Sellers will be attempting to get their property on the market and sold by the Holidays. Our Buyers will want to be entertaining in their new home before the end of the year.Tourists visit all year round and fall in love with San Francisco. While they are here they start dreaming about coming back here as job transferees or buying a second home in the city…so Open Houses over a holiday weekend such as Memorial Day are always a great way for them to see the inside of homes in our charismatic neighborhoods before heading home to start packing!

While most of California and the Bay Area’s real estate markets are seasonal/weather-related and centered around school schedules…San Francisco’s real estate market is centered more around when holidays and vacations begin and end.

Anticipating one of San Francisco’s high seasons about to begin just after Memorial Day weekend, perhaps more San Franciscans will be thinking about staying in the city to enjoy this upcoming long holiday weekend with the tourists and take in an open house or two since the Bay Bridge will be closed from Friday, August 31st at 8 PM through Tuesday, September 4^th at 5 AM .

In the homes that are held open this coming weekend, September 1^st and 2^nd in San Francisco, you will find a motivated Seller and Seller’s agent …hoping their property to be sold before the end of summer.